Palletized material handling



Oct. 23, 1962 F. C.D ANSEREAU 3,059,796

PALLETIZED MATERIAL HANDLING Filed Nov. 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 0 Francis C. Dunsereuu BYwim ATTORNEY 06L 1962 F. c. DANSEREAU 3,059,796

PALLETIZED MATERIAL HANDLING Filed Nov. 12, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 34 INVENTOR.

L L 1 Francis C. Dansereau 4 ATTORNEY 3,659,795 Patented @ct. 23, 1962 3,059,796 PALLETIZED MATERIAL HANDLING Francis C. Dansereau, Kenmore, N.Y., assignor to National Gypsum Company, Buffalo, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 852,391 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-731) The present invention is directed to an improvement in the handling of materials by means of pallets and is particularly directed to an improved and simplified means for unloading materials from a pallet.

Materials packaged for handling and shipping in paper bags, for example, present a relatively diflicult problem in handling due, first, to the weakness of the bags and, second, to the usual flexibility and thus the necessity of any substantial volume of bags being on a pallet for handling by fork lift trucks. Removal of a large plu rality of bagged material from pallets has required excessive labor in manually removing bags, one at a time, from the pallet.

Fork lift trucks commonly include a pusher for pushing off material which is loaded on the truck forks. When pallets are employed, it will be apparent that that method of removal of materials would remove the pallet with the material.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of removing material from pallets.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel method of removing material from pallets which is adaptable to available equipment with a minimum of alteration.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved fork truck and pallet combination for simplir'ied unloading thereof.

These and other objects of the invention will become readily apparent from the following specification and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a fork truck and a loaded pallet, said truck and pallet embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pallet of FIG. 1 and a portion of the truck forks.

FIG. 3 is a side View of the elements of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the elements of FIG. 2 in locked position, further including the side-shifted position of the forks for insertion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, enlarged, of the locking elements of the forks of FIG. 2.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a fork lift truck 10, with loading forks 12, fork raising and lowering means 13, and adapted with a pusher attachment 14, such pusher attachments being known, available attachments for fork lift trucks for pushing off material which can be loaded directly onto truck forks. Truck also has a standard side-shifting attachment consisting essentially of a hydraulic cylinder and piston laterally mounted between the truck body and the forks whereby the loading forks 12 may be moved sideways relative to the truck body approximately four inches essentially as indicated by the shifting positions of the forks 12 relative to a sta tionary pallet, shown in FIG. 4, and more fully discussed below. The side-shifting attachment has been commonly used heretofore for placing loads tightly against building walls or other adjacent loads for most compact warehousing procedures, such attachments being shown as available, for example, in the 1958 Edition of Sweets Catalog Service, Plant Engineering File, at Section lb/ ALL, page 14, and at Section lb/ CL, page 10, these two sections being originally publications respectively of Allis Chalmers and of Clark Equipment Company.

In accordance with the invention loading forks 12 each have a raised projection 01' stud 16, extending outwardly from the fork side face 18. Studs 16, as seen in FIG. 5, consist of a five-eighths inch diameter three inch long metal rod 20, approximately a two inch portion 22 being threaded. A standard hexagonal nut 24 is threaded onto the metal rod to the inner end of the threaded portion, and the balance of the threaded portion 22 is screwed tightly into a threaded hole 26 extending into the side of the fork 12. If desired the stud 16 may be additionally reinforced as by welding of the stud to the fork side face '18.

A thin pallet 30, in accordance with the invention, is formed of a #9 gauge corrugated steel sheet 32, with corrugations extending from one side edge 34 to an opposite side edge 36, with the side edges 34, 36 bent upwardly and inwardly, and a #7 gauge flat steel sheet 40 affixed atop the corrugated sheet edges 34, 36, providing a load receiving upper deck. A central reinforcing rib 44, in the form of a U shaped channel, is affixed between the corrugated sheet 32 and the flat sheet 40, extending parallel to side edges 34 and 36 and midway therebetween. In the preferred form shown the flat sheet 40 has a width equal to the width between side edges 34 and 36 and, in the direction from front to back of pallet, the flat sheet 40 extends beyond both the front and back edges of the corrugated sheet 3% The overall height of the pallet 30 is formed to a minimum reasonably permissible, preferably about two and one half inches.

The front edge 46 of the flat sheet, which is the edge at which the truck forks 12 are inserted, includes two downwardly extending narrow flanges Sit, disposed suitably to engage both studs 16 when forks 112 are properly placed as described below.

In accordance with the invention, truck 10, having the pusher 14, the side-shifting attachment, and the studs 16 on the forks 12, is driven to insert the forks 12 into the thin pallet 30 which is loaded with bagged material 52, with the studs 16 disposed inwardly of the pallet from the flanges 50, FIG. 2. Without raising the forks, the side-shifting attachment of the truck 19 is operated to shift the forks sideways in a direction toward the flanges 50, whereby the studs 16 become disposed directly inwardly of and behind the flanges 54), see FIG. 4. The forks are then raised, lifting the pallet from the floor. The pallet 30 is transported to a given storage surface in a warehouse whereat it is desired that the bagged material be stored, which might be directly on the floor, or on another pallet on which the bagged material is desired to be placed. The pallet 39 is lowered to be closely spaced above the new desired storage surface. With the studs 16 still lockingly disposed behind the flanges 56, FIG. 3, the pusher 14 is started moving forward to push against the load of bagged material, and the truck 10 is started moving backward at substantially equal speeds as was commonly done heretofore in unloading material which could be loaded directly onto the truck forks. By the engagement of the studs 16 behind the flanges 5'0, the pallet is fixed relative to the truck during the unloading, whereby the bagged material "'52 is removed from the pallet 30 without the pallet being pushed from the forks.

On completion of the unloading, the pallet is taken to the place where desired and lowered by the forks, as, for example, onto the floor. The truck side-shifting attachment is then operated in reverse to the direction for engagement, whereby the studs 16 are removed from a position directly inwardly of and behind the flanges 50, as indicated in FIG. 4. The truck is backed away from the pallet and is ready for the moving and unloading of further pallets of bagged material.

Accordingly, a highly simplified means for unloading pallets is provided by relatively easily made modifications of equipment, and by employing presently available special adaptations on fork lift trucks in a different, novel combination providing a new, advantageous function.

Having completed a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiment of my invention so that those skilled in the art may practice the same, I contemplate that variations may be made without departing from the essence of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fork lift truck having forwardly extending forks, a load removing pusher attachment, and a side-shifting attachment for moving the said forks sideways relative to the truck body, the further improvement comprising a raised projection on each said fork, said projection extending outwardly from the same respective side of each said fork, disposed out of the path of operation of said pusher attachment, and disposed for lockingly engaging a pallet by movement of said forks sideways relative to said truck body and said pallet.

2. A fork lift truck as defined in claim 1, said raised projections each comprising a threaded rod partially disposed in a threaded hole extending into the side of each said fork.

3. An improved fork lift truck and pallet for use therewith, said truck having a load removing pusher attachment, a side-shifting attachment for moving the truck forks sideways relative to the truck body, and a plurality Lil of forwardly extending spaced apart truck forks having a raised projection on each said fork, said projections extending outwardly from the same respective side of each said fork, disposed out of the path of operation of said pusher attachment, and said pallet having means for lockingly engaging said raised projections when said forks are moved sideways relative to said truck body and said pallet.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said locking means of said pallet comprises a plurality of downwardly extending flanges afiixed to an upper deck of said pallet, said flanges being relatively spaced apart similar to the spacing of said truck forks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,256,453 Bomar Sept. 16, 1941 2,256,454 Bomar Sept. 16, 1941 2,371,661 Wilms Mar. 20, 1945 2,388,458 Alfonte Nov. 6, 1945 2,517,938 Stevenson Aug. 8, 1950 2,610,751 Beven Sept. 16, 1952 2,656,062 Thomas Oct. 20, 1953 2,707,573 Balwics May 3, 1955 2,748,966 Gohrke June 5, 1956 2,800,236 Schenkelberger July 23, 1957 

